Anyone else here forced to retire and scared to death?

[UnrealizedPotential]

I would certainly try writing a letter to the company that owns the complex. Explain your situation in detail to them. Be respectful but firm. Tell them you lost your job and you need to renegotiate the lease. Give them your full contact information. I would not contact the apartment complex management anymore. Sign and date the letter. If that fails only you can decide what to do going forward.

 

[gauss]

Thank you for the update
-gauss

Sent from my LGLS751 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[target2019]

I went home rejected and put the covers over my head and cried. Being forced to retire is no fun.

Not the news you wanted to hear, but you have choices.

“…A society, or all mankind, should study the consequences that are likely to result from each decision that is possible at the present time. By making appropriate selections today, society can influence its future, rather than wait for the inevitable to occur. The individual, too, can consider what sort of person he wants to become, and what goals he wants to achieve, before making a choice between various alternatives. He can set out to produce a certain future for himself, instead of feeling that his life is completely determined by forces over which he has little control.” Allen Tough from The Adult’s Learning Projects

I tell myself and my kids something like the following. Yeah, it was bad. Go dig a hole and throw yourself in for a few hours. Then climb out, brush off the dirt, and get your A$$ in gear.

Is your resume all polished and sitting in the well-known sites, like Monster, Dice, Indeed?

I was kicked to the curb a few times as I passed the 60-year mark. Gotta move on to the next opportunity, friend.

 

[Philliefan33]

My car is too old for Uber. I tried and was rejected.

I went to the real estate attorney yesterday and he went through my lease very carefully and said there was nothing I could do legally to break the lease. There was no out. He said it was unlikely I would be sued but breaking my lease would end up on my credit and rental report, making it nearly impossible to rent another apartment.

I tried to contact someone of authority at the property management company corporate office- that owns my apartment complex, but I could not get anyone of importance on the phone. The "clerk" I talked to on the phone told me over and over and over, I would have to work it out with the property manager at the complex I live in. Which I have tried to do many times, with no luck at all. The Property Manager just keeps saying over and over and over again that I have to pay or stay until the end of my lease, no exceptions.

I went home rejected and put the covers over my head and cried. Being forced to retire is no fun.

One solution, that has been posted previously but you don't seem to understand (or are willfully being dense) is to find a new place to live before you break this lease.

You're probably down to seven months on your lease by now. It will likely take a couple of months for you to find a place and move. Your credit and renter's history will not change in that time if you are still in your current place. Find a cheaper place to live, move, then notify the current property manager that you are not paying any more rent.

It's time you stopped waiting for your fairy godmother to fix things for you. As I used to say to my kids when they griped about chores: if you spent your time and energy on doing the work instead of complaining about it, you'd be done by now!

 

[target2019]

It's time you stopped waiting for your fairy godmother to fix things for you. As I used to say to my kids when they griped about chores: if you spent your time and energy on doing the work instead of complaining about it, you'd be done by now!

+1
Absolute gold.

 

[alaska55]

Go down and a find a apartment sign a new lease starting Oct 1st. Pay 6 month in advance. Pack up and leave. There are decent apts for $800. I wouldn't worry too much about your credit score what the hell are you going to buy on SS and your savings account. The only thing a high credit score is good for is buying expensive s**t, are you going to buy expensive stuff . I live on about $30k a year I pay cash and if can't I don't buy,simple as that. I'm living on savings of $75k and about $400k in investments. I turn 62 in 11 months. I retired May 2015.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/search/apa?sort=priceasc&max_price=1000&query=glen allen

 

[Forced to Retire]

Any landlord I would go in September to to rent another apartment in another town would call my current landlord here in Alexandria and ask about me. They would say I still have 8 months left on my lease.

Go down and a find a apartment sign a new lease starting Oct 1st. Pay 6 month in advance. Pack up and leave. There are decent apts for $800. I wouldn't worry too much about your credit score what the hell are you going to buy on SS and your savings account. The only thing a high credit score is good for is buying expensive s**t, are you going to buy expensive stuff . I live on about $30k a year I pay cash and if can't I don't buy,simple as that. I'm living on savings of $75k and about $400k in investments. I turn 62 in 11 months. I retired May 2015.

https://richmond.craigslist.org/search/apa?sort=priceasc&max_price=1000&query=glen allen

 

[harley]

Any landlord I would go in September to to rent another apartment in another town would call my current landlord here in Alexandria and ask about me. They would say I still have 8 months left on my lease.

BS. Do or do not. There is no try.

 

[aaronc879]

Maybe the OP should consider buying a place back home in St Cloud,MN. Housing costs are quite low there. He could get a very reasonable place for around $100K. He would have to pay cash since his income is very low. Here's one example: 1064 Manor Ct, Saint Cloud, MN 56303 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

 

[alaska55]

Any landlord I would go in September to to rent another apartment in another town would call my current landlord here in Alexandria and ask about me. They would say I still have 8 months left on my lease.

I'll bet you can find someone that will take 6-12 rent up front, but you will never know if you don't try. All it will cost you is 1 day and few gallons of gas.

 

[aggie76]

After following this thread since birth I'm calling out the OP.
There have been many many many very good suggestions for his benefit mostly centered around MOVE !!!!!!
It is the absolute consensus that his present living arrangement is 100% impossible to sustain and there is ABSOLUTELY 1 and only 1 option.
YET time and time again the OP returns with the same thing...I CANT I CANT.
Sir its time for you to " grow up" and face reality....
You have PUT YOURSELF into an untenable situation. You WILL break this idiot lease, you WILL ruin your credit score ( as pointed out above you don't need a darn credit score..YOU ARE BROKE and have NO business borrowing money for anything) and you WILL move into a cheap piece of crap apartment in you beloved N Va or you can move to a cheaper place and TOUGH IT OUT, get a job and quit the " woe is me" drivel.
Someone needs to force some reality on the OP and end this.

 

[harley]

After following this thread since birth I'm calling out the OP.
There have been many many many very good suggestions for his benefit mostly centered around MOVE !!!!!!
It is the absolute consensus that his present living arrangement is 100% impossible to sustain and there is ABSOLUTELY 1 and only 1 option.
YET time and time again the OP returns with the same thing...I CANT I CANT.
Sir its time for you to " grow up" and face reality....
You have PUT YOURSELF into an untenable situation. You WILL break this idiot lease, you WILL ruin your credit score ( as pointed out above you don't need a darn credit score..YOU ARE BROKE and have NO business borrowing money for anything) and you WILL move into a cheap piece of crap apartment in you beloved N Va or you can move to a cheaper place and TOUGH IT OUT, get a job and quit the " woe is me" drivel.
Someone needs to force some reality on the OP and end this.

Or hit the ignore button.

 

[Lcountz]

Ho-kay....here goes "Forced" ole friend ole sock.........

Since you seem to be determined to stay where you are at til the end of your lease ( in about 7 months), which is 2500. a month.....just do that and let that stress be lifted off you.

Even if you found a new place today for 1000. a month, that's 1500 less than you're paying now, so 1500 x 7 months...you'll be losing $10,500. if you stay. Not something most on this board would do, but not the end of the world either.

This rent issue has assumed a gigantic obstacle to you. Now it's gone.

So let the rent issue get off your shoulders, but START NOW to find another suitable place so you can JUMP when that last day comes around. Pack up your stuff that you NEED, and spend the time donating, selling or junking what you DON"T need.

Lighten your load significantly, because it costs money to move stuff you don't need or don't use.

Hopefully you don't have a grand piano or a pool table!!!!!

Cut your expenses TO THE BONE so you can preserve your nest egg.

OK. Now breathe, dry the tears, and start your search for new digs TODAY.

NO ONE can "FORCE" you to stay in a place you no longer wish to live in. That's crazy. There are some crazy "rules" today in this country, but that is not one of them!!!!!

Sound better? Yes you'll lose some money. But maybe the market gods will be kind to you and you'll make it back by moving day!!! If that lease issue is causing you SO much stress and anxiety, just stay, pay the money, and don't let that further ruin your health.

You must be pretty strong since you keep coming back here where there's been some bashing!!! ( but they are only trying to help in their own way, or, are exhibiting the impatience that kept them moving forward toward thier own goals to get to ER).

 

[RunningBum]

He's not broke. He's got money to make it through the lease. It means he'll have that much less for the rest of his life. I don't see a problem with someone who feels like they ought to honor the lease contract they signed. I'm not sure what I would do, but I probably wouldn't be in this situation because I wouldn't have signed another year long lease in an expensive place without a job. Can't change that now though.


So he's paying $20K for 8 more months? Maybe he could find something elsewhere for $7K, so that's $13K he's really out. At a 4% WR, that's $520/yr, or $10/week he'll be without. On a very tight budget $10 is nice, but I don't think that's a huge deal.

 

[ivinsfan]

Ho-kay....here goes "Forced" ole friend ole sock.........

Since you seem to be determined to stay where you are at til the end of your lease ( in about 7 months), which is 2500. a month.....just do that and let that stress be lifted off you.

Even if you found a new place today for 1000. a month, that's 1500 less than you're paying now, so 1500 x 7 months...you'll be losing $10,500. if you stay. Not something most on this board would do, but not the end of the world either.

This rent issue has assumed a gigantic obstacle to you. Now it's gone.

So let the rent issue get off your shoulders, but START NOW to find another suitable place so you can JUMP when that last day comes around. Pack up your stuff that you NEED, and spend the time donating, selling or junking what you DON"T need.

Lighten your load significantly, because it costs money to move stuff you don't need or don't use.

Hopefully you don't have a grand piano or a pool table!!!!!

Cut your expenses TO THE BONE so you can preserve your nest egg.

OK. Now breathe, dry the tears, and start your search for new digs TODAY.

NO ONE can "FORCE" you to stay in a place you no longer wish to live in. That's crazy. There are some crazy "rules" today in this country, but that is not one of them!!!!!

Sound better? Yes you'll lose some money. But maybe the market gods will be kind to you and you'll make it back by moving day!!! If that lease issue is causing you SO much stress and anxiety, just stay, pay the money, and don't let that further ruin your health.

You must be pretty strong since you keep coming back here where there's been some bashing!!! ( but they are only trying to help in their own way, or, are exhibiting the impatience that kept them moving forward toward thier own goals to get to ER).

+1 This is the answer....in fact it is merely the position you have taken from day one that you are not comfortable breaking your lease. Do the rest of the things on your own to do list and have a plan in place at least 60 days before your lease expires and then do it. If you can't find a job help yourself by getting mobile and ready to go the minute you lease is up.

 

[Lcountz]

Correction. Someone CAN "force" you to live where you don't want to...it's called prison!

 

[Corporateburnout]

Not sure why people keep bashing the OP. It's HIS LIFE and the majority of people advised him and he doesn't seem to want to take their advice but it's time for people to move on........Or as someone has suggested push the ignore button.

 

[Mulligan]

If decision to stay has been made, then minimizing nest egg destruction is paramount as it can never be recovered... Cut every expense to the bone and take ANY job to preserve capital until the move can occur. That would be what I would do anyways...

 

[Hermit]

I'm glad to hear that most on the board are getting beyond urging you to break the lease. I agree that downsizing and decluttering are great next steps. There are numerous threads on these subjects. Review some of them and make a plan to trim down your "stuff" as much as you can. I didn't before I moved. Never seemed to have time. Now I have a storage unit I am paying $240/mo. to keep my stuff in. If you are in a 2 bedroom, think about consolidating to a one bedroom. Between a smaller space and no storage you will be able to save even more on future housing. Now is the time to start. If you don't have your stuff trimmed down by a couple of months before you move, it won't happen and the next few months will go by very quickly. This would be the plan I would come back to the board with. There are experts here on decluttering and if you check in once and a while with progress, you will get plenty of encouragement, or a verbal kick in the pants, whichever will help you keep on track.

 

[Texas Proud]

Not sure why people keep bashing the OP. It's HIS LIFE and the majority of people advised him and he doesn't seem to want to take their advice but it's time for people to move on........Or as someone has suggested push the ignore button.

+1.... it is his decision... but there are a number of people who read what he says and call BS..

He says he cannot move... BS... he can... even if his new apt calls his current apt and they say he has 8 months rent left... so what... tell them up front why you are moving... and as someone suggested, he pay 6 months upfront... what is to lose to the new apt NOTHING... he signs a 6 month lease and pays it... so after 6 months he has established credibility with them and he can stay....


Now, if he would come out and say "I want to stay where I am at, damn the cost".... then people would not be piling on him.... it would be a decision HE made... and him not blaming others for his problem...

The other thing is that good credit came come back pretty quickly... I was surprised with one of my DWs friends... she got divorced in Jan and had a credit score of about 600 (maybe less).... 8 months later she is at 720ish... not over 800 like most are used to, but a 720 will not prevent you from getting loans or other things...

 

[photoguy]

My car is too old for Uber. I tried and was rejected.

Even if your car is older, you may be able to drive for ubereats which has laxer standards. I think they accept cars as old as 1996. No idea what the relative pay is like, but since Uber seems to be actively pushing it there may be driver incentives. Just make sure you understand the insurance situation if you do this.

I threw out Uber as an idea because it seemed like a decent gig option to help bring in some extra cash. There are a whole slew of other crowdsourcing gig opportunities. Another one may be dog walking/sitting:

https://www.rover.com/alexandria--va--dog-walking/

Pay seems pretty good even if the company takes a cut off the top. Plus you get to walk (my wife got a fitbit and for a while was OCD about getting steps). I would think a wealthy area like DC would have lots of people that like to pamper their pets.

House sitting might be another option. And of course looking for gigs on on craigslist: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/nva/ggg

Full disclosure: I've never tried any of these except as a client.

 

[Aerides]

Uber sounds good until you factor in all the costs and the down time with no rides. For $10 an hour, Amazon is hiring Full-time seasonal phone (work at home) support for the holidays. Looks like this might fit with the OP's situation, since he isn't going to get a "real" job and then have an excuse not to move in 7 months, but this allows some small income while inertia continues, just an idea:

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/SF160006259

 

[Sunset]

When I had to move to another city for a job, I rented a room in a house. It's cheap flexible, no credit score taken, and usually no bills other than the room rent + food.
My experience in nice areas the rent was $500/mo for a room.

Folks who rent rooms know you probably won't be there forever, and any hesitation on their part is easily solved by paying for the first 2 months immediately.

 

[Choices]

Okay, I am over this. As a volunteer I help folks in op's situation so I know a bit about this.
You have hit all the alternatives for him and he still doesn't want to budge. There is no magic wand. The dude is in a much better place than any of my clients ever are.
Reading this thread is now torture for me. Adios.

 

[Forced to Retire]

I have taken everyone's advice that I should move ASAP regardless of my lease term, very seriously. I will likely follow through and break my lease. But to move from an area that I have lived in for over 25 years and break my lease and risk being sued and have my credit ruined, isn't something the typical person does quickly. I have to figure it out. I am all alone in this decision.